Native Culture
by Igeekthetudors
Summary: When the nations decided to show off the native culture of their countries, America realizes something about himself and his people.
1. Prologue

America knew that he was young compared to the majority of the other nations and that his people were greatly more diverse than some of the other countries. And most of the time his age didn't matter and was very seldom ever brought up. In the event that it ever was, it was in a meeting amid a scrimmage with Britain or with a country that he and his government were not cordial with at the moment.

He also had realized in recent years, that the other nations had a much more "seasoned history" than he did. That didn't bother America most of the time, except when the topic of a country's culture or the old traditions of their homes popped up in a conversation.

Whenever that happens, America starts to feel slightly uncomfortable. And he even starts to feel slightly jealous...

 _(Hello!, this is my first fanfic I have ever published so I would love to get some feedback! Good or bad. And I am so sorry for the short chapter.I will be posting links in my bio so you can see what the clothing in the story looks like)_


	2. Chapter 1

_Americas POV-_

The meetings were supposed to be about "fixing the world's problems", but they almost always ended up just being a time for the nations to fight about useless subjects, their years of unresolved sexual tension and trying to figure out a way to make themselves and their country look better in the eyes of the world.

France and England would end up bickering about who won some war 500 years ago, Russia would be happily smiling at the end of the table and Germany would attempt to pick up control of the meeting again by shouting and advising everybody to be quiet or there would be consequences.

It almost never worked...

Surprisingly, as the other nations were fighting like young children, America was sitting quietly in the back just listening intensely to the other nations and their arguments.

"You bloody know that you lost that battle, don't try and make it sound like you won it!"

and

"Germany, help me! Make him stop!"

America suddenly piped up from the back of the room

"Umm, guy's shouldn't we be trying to get some like.. work done?"

all eyes turned to America,

"What did you just say Amérique?"

"I was justing thinking that we should try and get something done. We only get to have a meeting every few months and there is a lot of stuff we probably need to go over.."

"We can go over everything at our next meeting America, we have more...important things to talk about today"

"What the heck is more important than diseases prevention England?"

"Proving that damn Frenchie wrong is more important America!"

"That makes no senses. I thought that you guys were supposed to be the mature ones? Telling me to do my work and to stop acting like a child?"

"You would not understand America, we all have been around a long time and when you have been around as long as some of us, you get to witness a lot of important events so you have the duty to remind others who really won a battle or war. And you start knowing another nation's history better than they know their own!"

At that moment, Russia who had been strangely silent spoke up,

"Он говорит правду, Америка"*

"Oh?, Tell me England, France how much do you truly know about Germany? Or Belgium? You guys only know about the culture and history or the countries that you have been involved with the most! Don't act like you know everything about all of us!

 _(I used Google translate on the Russian so if it is wrong, I am so sorry)_

 _Он говорит правду, Америка- He speaks the truth, America_


	3. Chapter 2

_Mostly America/Germanys and England POV-_

The meeting room was dead silent, Everyone was thinking the same thing, what had made America lash out like that?

England was the first to speak,

"Oh like, you know anything about the countries in South America!"

"Actually, I do know quite a bit about them... we Americas gotta stick together! And I have been involved with most of them at some time or another."

"But America, there is no reason for us know the history and culture of a country that we are not regularly involved with!"

"What do you mean? of courses, there are reasons to learn about other cultures! How are you supposed to understand what another country is going through if you know absolutely nothing about them?

"Ну, как вы предлагаете нам узнать о других ... народов?"

"I can't be the only one making up ideas guys, Canada what do you think?"

"Well...I have to agree with America on this one...It is extremely important to understand the things going on around you, even if you don't think it matters..."

"How about during the next few meeting each of us will do a presentation on our own country? Like we could teach everyone about our homelands native clothing, food and one important part of your country's history!"

"Well...that could work"

"And we could learn about things that we are biased on, we could see the other side of the story!"

"I think it sounds like a fun idea! Germany are you excited!?"

"Sure...Italy"

"All in favor are acting on Americas idea say aye"

"Aye"

"Aye"

"Ugh, ok, aye"

"Alright then, who want's to go first at the next meeting?"

"Je vais d'Abord l'Allemagne"

 _(I used Google translate on the French and Russian so there could be some errors)_

 _"Ну, как вы предлагаете нам узнать о других ... народов?"- "Well, how do you propose we learn about other people_

 _"Je vais d'Abord l'Allemagne"- I shall go first_


	4. Chapter 3- France

_(Human names used)_

 _Frances POV-_

In the months leading up to the next meeting, Francis found himself caring substantially more about this project than he originally did in the beginning. Putting together a presentation would not only offer him a chance of a vacation, but it would allow him to visit parts of his land that he did not frequently get to visit during the year.

Traveling from Paris to Nimes he gathered artifacts ranging from flags to clothing and century old book that dated back to the ancient roman days.

As he started putting together his presentation, old memories quickly flooded his thoughts and it was not long before the memories of his dark early years came to mind, the beginning years of the 1300s were a dangerous and dark time for most of Europe and Asia, Consisting of the invasions of land and the start of the 100 year war between England and himself, During this time, he had done an extensive deal of things that he was not proud of and at the conclusion of the dark ages, together with England and most of the other nations, they decided that it was for the best of the world to put the memories of what happened during that age behind them and move on.

"I do hope that this doesn't bring up any memories to painful..." France murmurs quietly to himself.

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"EVERYONE QUIT!"

"Ahh, thank you Allemagne. Hello, my fellow lovely nations.. and England..."

"Just hurry up and start your damn speech already frog!"

"Of courses dear, I will start with showing you the marvelous native clothing of my people, and then I will talk about..hmm.. the early 1300s".

As France started going off about men's tights in the early 1300s, America was sitting quietly in his seat listening eagerly. He was trying to soak up all the information that he could from France. Normally he was more of a science and math kinda guy, but that didn't mean that he wasn't interested in additional subjects.

"And then in 1337 the 100-year war started between myself and Britain..."

Thinking to himself America wondered, "will I survive as long as France? or will I end up like Rome..."

As France finished up, many of the older nations had started reminiscing about the times they had spent fighting or about the times their countries had allied together. France and England were, for once, not bickering, but were instead laughing about the time they both thought the world was flat.

Grinning to himself, America decided that this might just be one of the best ideas he had ever come up with in the last century.

 _Historical note -_

 _*Everything I know about French history comes straight from my French teacher, so if anything is wrong blame it on her lol_

 _100-year war- A war between England and France that really lasted 116 years._

 _Nimes- A city in France that has a lot of monuments and buildings left over from the days of the Roman empire. And I get to go there on my Franch trip in a few years!_

 _Tights- In a lot of places in Europe, men wore tights in the middle ages._

 _French/Allemagne-Germany_

 _Please leave reviews so I know how I am doing :) Thank you for reading!_


	5. Chapter 4- England

_England's POV-_

It had been decided at the last meeting that I would be the next presenter. And of corse I was happy to comply, but how do they expect me to compare to France and his presentation? Everyone appeared to love it...

What could I possibly talk about that is different than Francis, but just as exciting? Neither of the world wars would not be appropriate... or the 1700s... that would bring up too many painful memories and no one want's to see or be around America when he get's pissed off...

Perhaps the 1500s? Yes, that ought to work.

One of the first things England knew he needed to do was obtain the queen's permission to access some of the older objects from her family's history. And then he would have to travel to some of his older homes in the country.

Arthur started preparing for his presentation by first gathering some of the harder pieces to come across, such as rare books from the 15th century that he had secretly hidden in his numerous homes over the years. Being able to preserve and protect art and literature was one of the few privileges of being immortal in his opinion. Although the world considered many objects in British history to have been destroyed over the years, the truth was that England had been protecting and preserving them, including the last portrait of Ann Boleyn and several of the missing works of Shakespeare.

"Maybe America's idea wasn't so terrible after all..." England mused to himself.

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 _America's POV-_

"To begin, I would like to talk about the fascinating, glamorous and extremely dangerous Tudor court..."

Many of the nations didn't know about his profound hidden interest in Britain's history, he had always assumed that the fascination was coming from his people and their obsession with England. So because of that, as England, spoke he took as many notes as he could and paid close attention to what he was saying.

As he listened to England's presentation his mind started to wonder back to a subject he had been pondering for the last few months, he had started to think about what he could talk about in his presentation. What would be appropriate for him to classify as his nation's culture? His people were all so different and most of them had a culture that they specifically celebrated...his thoughts were interrupted when France spoke up as England was ending his presentation.

"When Henry the 8th divorced and then beheaded his 2nd wife, he was believed to have destroyed all remaining portrait of her, I, fortunately, saved one of them and it is known to be that last reaming portrait of the Marquess of Pembroke."

"Oh, I remember lady Boleyn, she had spent some time in my country, non?

"Yes, sadly she did...she even appeared to be French most of the time"

Each of the European nations was now discussing how they had all been affected by Henry the 8th and how he had defied the Catholic church and how he and his family had changed everything.

The younger nations were left wondering how in the hell the European nations had not destroyed the earth by now...

 _Historical Note-_

 _Ann Boleyn- 2nd wife of Henry the 8th. He divorced his 1st wife and defied the Catholic church so he could marry Ann and then after Ann did not have a son, she was beheaded. There are also no known painting of Queen Ann that has survived._

 _Old Books- Many books, poems, and plays have been lost over the years. And I like to think England has them hidden someplace._

 _Thank you for reading! And please let me know how I am doing! I love feedback, good or bad :)_

 _And if there are any countries or times that you would like me to do just leave it in the comments!_


	6. Chapter 5- Russia

_Russias POV-_

Standing in a small room in his Derbent home, Ivan was gently going through trunks that were brimming with things ranging from hundred-year-old artifacts to modern scientific notes.

For several days now, he had found himself struggling with determining a specific time in his country's history to do his presentation on. Natalia had proposed that he choose the 1900s or another time that a political revolution had occurred. He had considered that of course...but he suspected that bringing up some of those memories would make some of the other nations feel miserable or tick off a certain super power.

Ivan had even resorted to reading through some of the antique history books that he had recently rediscovered in one of the trunks. As he was halfway through one of the novels, he found himself surprised at how much of his history that he had not thought about in years...

By the time he had finished the book he had started earlier, Ivan had determined that he would choose the years of the 1700s and the reign of Queen Cathrine the Grate.

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America's POV-

"During the 1700s in my country, there was a Queen...she was nicknamed, Cathrine the Grate for various reasons..."

Alfred had been surprised by Ivan, he had wrongfully assumed that Russia would have chosen the Soviet era of his history, but instead, he had chosen an era which most nations knew next to nothing about. And as much as Ivan and he argued and disagreed on multiple subjects, Alfred had to admit that the older nation did have an impressive and interesting history.

He listened intently as Russia explained how Queen Cathrine had given the girls in wealthy families the chances of an education and how she had cared deeply about the arts. Ivan also explained his nation's traditional dress, Alfred now knew that a Russian women's traditional dress was called a Sarafan, which is a long brightly colored dress that is used in modern times to perform songs and dances in, And a man's traditional outfit is called a Kosovorotka, which is a colorful shirt that has hand stitched patterns on it.

Russia had then changed to the topic of his nation's songs and dances which have had a vital influence on his history and culture.

As Ivan was finishing up, America's mind once again drifted to the matter of his own presentation. Alfred had not realized exactly how hard it would be for him to pinpoint his people's cultural...

 _Historical Note -_

 _Russia in the 1900s- During this time the Romanovs, the royal family of Russia, where killed and a new government was formed._

 _Soviet Union/Cold War- The country of Russia was a communist nation from 1922 until 1991, two of the best-known leaders of the USSR are Stalin and Khrushchev. During this time, The United States of America and The Soviet Union were involved in a "Cold War", which is a war with no actual fighting,no deaths, and no declaration of war. Incidents that happened during the Cold War included, The Cuban Missile Crises, The Space Race/Sputnik/Moon Landing, The Berlin Airlift, The Formation of NATO and WARSAW, Bay of Pigs, Vietnam and Korean War, Creation of the Berlin Wall, And the "Red Scare", which was a large part of the Cold War in the United States.*Most of this information comes from my aunt who is from Russia and my Grandfather who was born and raised in Latvia until WW2 and the rest is from my high school history class._

 _(This is probably the chapter I am the proudest of, so I hope you like it :) It was fun to write about my family's history._

 _And I would love if you reviewed and let me know how I am doing! Thank you for reading :)_

 _Vote for the country you would like to see next!_


	7. Chapter 6- China

_China's POV-_

Wang sat quietly in one of the back rooms of the National Library of China, where he was carefully sorting through documents that dated back to the early 1300s.

He thought that it was remarkable that they had survived for so many years without being damaged or stolen by enemy militaries during invasions.

Being as old as he was, he had a difficult time choosing exactly what time he wanted to focus on, should he do the Ming Dynasty, during that time arts and literature flourished or should he focuses on one of the darker parts of his life?

After searching through the archives of the library, Wang soon found what he was looking for, a letter written from the Empress Dowager Cixi to himself.

As soon as he saw the letter, he knew exactly what he would be presenting about, the women who helped shape him and his people.

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Standing at the head of the table, Wang started,

"The first person I will be talking about is the Empress Cixi, She was the ruler of my land from the time her young son was 5 until her death at the age of 80…"

America leaned forward in his chair, he had always loved hearing about women who have defied the odds and changed the world and their lives.

"Another woman who was both controversial and strong was Sòng Qìnglíng, she was the first women to be named, Honorary President People's Republic of China."

Most of the nation was deeply invested in hearing what the older man was saying and as Wang was finishing up, he looked up and was secretly pleased to see the other nations acting so civilized. After years of war and arguments, it was a nice scene to see.

 _Historical Note-_

 _Empress Dowager Cixi- was the first and only women to be the empress of China. As a child she grew up in an abusive household and when she was 18 she became the Emperor's concubine and she gave him a son before he died. She ruled through her son until she died._

 _Sòng Qìnglíng- She was one of the few women working in the government at the time in the 1940s and before her death she was named,_ _Honorary President People's Republic of China._

 _* I did this late at night. So I am so sorry about the length, I might add more when I have time ( I have exams all week next week)_

 _And I will have the final chapter out by Saturday!_

 _Thank you for reading and if you want leave a comment! Comments make my day :)_


	8. Chapter 7- America

_America's POV-_

Alfred truly disliked to acknowledge that he was nervous, he was just slightly worried that his explanation of his people's culture, traditions, and history would not be a match for the older nations and there's.

It's not as though his people didn't have a history or a culture, it was just that for the last few decades the other nations had criticized him and his people. Saying things like,

"All Americans have to show for the last 400 plus years is fast food and ignorances!"

His personal favorite was,

"God, are all Americans that angry and violent? And what is up with all the guns in your country, America!?"

He had decided years ago not to pay attention to the others when they started to belittle him and his people. If he didn't, he was sure that he would do something that that would just prove the stereotypes right…

Back home in Washington, he stopped by the National Museum of American History, to pick up some documents and speak to a women who worked there.

The women he was meeting up with name was Anaba Grant, who was part of the Potawatomi tribe from the state of Michigan.

Alfred wanted to talk about all of his people, and all of his people were not descendants of European immigrants. The native Americans had some of the richest and oldest cultures in the country. And Alfred wanted to make sure he was doing them justice.

He also wanted to talk about the special traditions that were specific to the North states, the Southern states.

America suddenly wondered if the other nations would even care about what he had to say, or if they would refuse to even consider that the stereotypes that they had of him were wrong…

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hello everyone, I want to start out by thanking everyone for doing this, I believe we all have benefited from this project, in one way or another."

"True, mon ami"

"I know that most of you assume I will be talking about the stereotypical "American" things and I will be, but I would first like to talk to you about the original Americans."

Several of the other nations had to suppress a surprised look, they had thought that the American would talk about being the "hero".

"Before the European countries discovered North America in the 10th and 11th century, there were over 562 Native American tribes living in the soon to be U.S and Canada. But as the Europeans started to colonize North America, tribes were both killed and had their land forcibly taken by the settlers. It sadly did not get better for the tribes after my boss bought the Louisiana purchase..."

The other countries all sat with their mouths hanging open, nobody had anticipated that America would sound and act so serious. England decided that he needed to ask something,

"America, If I may ask, why do you care so deeply about this?"

"Because England, my mother was Native America...and she died because of the terrible choices the North American and European countries made."

The room went silent, everyone gawked at England and America,

"I..I...America, I am so sorry, I had no idea"

"Hey, it's ok, you didn't know, it's just something that is really personal to me, ya know?."

America looked back at his notes and resumed,

"When most people think about American culture, they presumably think of things like fast food, big cars, guns, and laziness."

A quiet ripple of "true" went through the room.

"There are those things, of course, but it's not like we are the only country to have them, and there is so much more to the culture of my people."

"Like for example, in most of the northern states, let's say... Michigan, they have a deep history in the lumber and factory industry and the Upper Peninsula is one of the few car-free areas in the country, so it's almost like taking a step back in time and the UP has world renowned fudge and desserts! Food like Pastys, Cherries, Asparagus and any farm fresh food is extremely popular in the great lake's state. And a largest amount of people are extremely proud of their German, French and Dutch heritage, so most of the state is named after their ancestor's homeland. And NEVER get Michiganders started on football, that is one of their favorite pastimes, Michigan State and the University of Michigan have some the wildest games... But they will happily unit when there is an Ohio State vs one of the Michigan teams games!"

"Southern culture is some of the best known American cultures because of several things that the south has done in the past..."

As America continued, he did not notice that many of the nations where either taking notes or listing intently to what he was saying.

"There are multiple negative stereotypes about the south and many of them are not correct, the southern states have some remarkably old history and despite some of it not being all that good, there are some incredibly interesting parts!"

Smiling, America continued,

"The southern states have some of the most original food in the country!, including things like Ice tea, Cornbread, Sweet Potato pies and many other kinds of pies, the most well-known American food, the Barbecue was also invented in the southern states!"

Through the rest of his presentation, America spoke about the Wright brothers, Walt Disney, Rock and Roll, Jazz and NASA.

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At the end of his presentation, America thought silently to himself,

"I might not have the same history and culture as the older nations, but I have something even better, I have a bit of all their cultures mixed in with my own. And because of all the various cultures coming together, a history like no other has formed."

Alfred was a melting pot country and he would forever be proud of that.

 _Historical Notes-_

 _Potawatomi tribe- A Native American tribe located in the northern states._

 _Northern States- Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin._

 _Michigan- The Mitten State and my amazing state. You should totally visit Michigan, it is amazing and we have some great lakes, fairs, and food. And was first settled by the French! (West Michigan is the best btw :) And the lakes are salt and shark free!_

 _Civil War- The only war that has been fought on American soil since the war for independence. It was the North/Union against the South/Confederacy. The Union won the war in 1865. I had family who fought on both sides (Mom's side on the Unions and my dad's family was split)_

 _*Fun fact, Russia supported the Union during the Civil War and was the only European country to do so!_

 _Wright Brothers- Created the first working plane._

 _Walt Disney- The founder of the Disney corporation._

 _Rock and Roll- Evolved in the United States._

 _Jazz- Also created in the United States in the early 19th century. Started in New Or_ leans _and became popular in large cities like New York and Chicago_.\

NASA- _An agency formed during the Cold War years by JFK to beat Russia to space, we weren't the first to space but we were first on the moon! NASA hopes to soon send people to Mars._

 _Melting Pot- America is referred to as a melting pot because of all the different people!_

 _* Thank you so much for reading! I hope I did this idea justice, I have had this idea forever and just decided to try and write it. I might end up editing the chapters and adding more this summer :)_

 _I have family in both the North and the South, so I know quite a bit about southern history and culture, I hope I did not offend anyone! And I am from Michigan, that's why I used that specific state._

 _I had writers block when I was writing the ending, so I would love if you told me what you thought about it :)_

 _And I love comments :) They make my day!_


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